In Favor of Slow Marketing

Most small biz owners like us usually want things to happen NOW.

More customers NOW. More leads, more fans, more followers faster, cheaper, NOW.

We live in an instant-gratification society, so a knee-jerk reaction for NOW should come as no surprise.

After all, you wouldn’t hire a marketing coach if you weren’t looking to turn up the heat and shorten the time it takes for you to see results, right?

But if you’re not careful, you might miss out on the Beauty of Slow. You’ve heard of the Slow Food Movement? Did you know there’s also a thing called Slow Marketing?

As far as I can tell from searches on the Interwebz, it hasn’t really taken off yet as an official movement, but here’s why I think it should: If you read my recent rant, you know I’m appalled by some of the less-than-helpful marketing tactics we face everyday (especially online).

Things like…

False scarcity – (Act now! While Supplies Last!)

Road maps to6-Figures (Is that gross? Or net profit?)

Secrets to attracting 10,000 fans (and building big-ass email lists)

As a marketer, I’m especially peeved by this kind of stuff because it gives marketing professionals everywhere a bad name. Then today, I stumbled across this post by Tad over at Marketing for Hippies. As someone who uses food as a theme to write about marketing, I’m surprised I hadn’t hit on this connection before.

What we need now (more than ever) is a Slow Marketing Movement.

A way of thinking about our businesses as more than just a means to an end. Of course, we need to eat and put a roof over our heads.

But that shouldn’t be the only reason we start a business. I’d love for more small biz owners to feel strong and confident about their ability to attract “enough” of the right clients.

Wouldn’t it be nice to not panic if you didn’t get immediate results every time you pushed the send button? Wouldn’t you love to have time to spend on things like experimentation, relationships and yes — even planning and contemplation?

I’m not saying that the occasional short cut isn’t helpful. There are times when we can (and should) be more efficient at how we tackle certain aspects of our marketing. But given the choice between a fast food burger or a sit-down meal with friends and family, I’d choose the latter any day.

And you know what? It really is a choice. We’re all playing with the same 24 hours. We could all exit stage left from Planet Earth at any moment. It all boils down to your philosophy on life:

Do You Believe in an Abundant Universe?

At the heart of the world’s short-term focus is really a belief that there’s Not Enough.

Not enough jobs. Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough connections to the right people. Not enough knowledge or experience or options.

There’s a pervasive feeling that there’s an answer somewhere OUT THERE (instead of IN HERE), and that’s really why we keep downloading all those free PDFs.

When you feel like you’re missing The Secret to Success, you’ll keep searching and searching and searching…and since we’re not taught to listen to ourselves (whether you call it your intuition or your gut), we’ll continue to rely on experts and authorities to show us the “right” way. (That’s also, coincidentally, what keeps us taking classes or searching for a blueprint or road map to 6-figure Business Nirvana.)

It’s what stops us from owning our power, slowing down and thinking about what we’d like to build long-term. It’s what keeps us focused on getting new customers, rather than getting to know our existing ones. And it keeps us from enjoying the journey.

FOLLOW-UP: Tad Hargrave and I have decided to see if there’s enough interest to formalize this movement. Come visit us here: SlowMarketing.org and add your voice to the chorus! Here’s another perspective on slow marketing called “The Long Idea.” (Don’t worry, it’s a short video.)

How about you? Do you believe in an Abundant Universe? Or do you panic when you don’t have enough clients? What kind of reaction do you get from the idea of “Slow Marketing?” Leave a comment and let’s discuss!

20 Comments

Excellent post. Yes, the people who pay for fans and create unauthentic followings really bug me. It’s disingenuous and people will feel burned when you are found out. It’s best to just do things the right way. Work your a@% off, but don’t get discouraged when results don’t come right away.

Great ideas Tea. Like Karlene, I also use pen and paper to outline ideas and get the creative juices flowing. Also, if you embrace slow and realize that no business is built in a day, month, year, you can work better with less stress and frustration.

The Slow Marketing Movement is an idea who’s time has come. We can breathe easier. Working at six things at once, working to unrealistic targets, expecting to buy the secrets to success in 6 easy downloads, all lead to disappointment. Let the lessons begin! I feel better already.

As I said on the other site, overall, you bet! :>I take time to integrate things with the overall pattern and it would be nice to be able to do that in peace.On the other wing, there things that argue for a bit faster pace. :>Much to think about in the blending. :>

Hell yeah, I’m in. You and I have chatted (ranted) about this before, I believe. Also, I’ve been a long-time subscriber to Tad’s site – you two are just about perfect to spearhead this baby. Can’t wait to see where it leads.

Joining today. I may have joined mentally some time ago, but had not had your inimitable creativity and foresight to start a movement around it Tea. So many have lost sight of ‘slow and steady’ wins the race and instead have been wobbling in increasingly frenetic concentric circles going nowhere.

I love this post Tea…I think you hit several points that are crucial. Technology makes everything quick and has truly pushed our expectations, I just got the new iphone and loving it for the speed it has over my previous 3G Samsung that my daughter cannot wait to get because her phone is not a smart phone so she will be grateful for something I think is almost a dinosaur. It’s truly about perception and patience…we have to be patient to zone in on our perceptions and I think to be clear about expectations from ourselves and others. We have to have faith that our efforts, plans and intentions are going to work out for us. Yep, it’s very hard at times, but I believe those times are what molds us for the more prosperous future. I all for a slow marketing movement…count me in!

That’s fabulous, Karlene! I’ve connected with Tad (mentioned in this post) and he’s on board for an official Slow Marketing movement. We’ll now be on the look out for others like you who want to join us. Stay tuned! I’ve purchased SlowMarketing.org and hope to have a basic manifesto started shortly.

I think how we define success is key. It doesn’t even mater if we are talking about business. Riding the wave of a new fad and miking it for fame or fortune without a care in the world for leaving a legacy, may be just what you’re looking for. It that’s your idea of success, knock yourself out! A more enlightened view acknowledges the fact that even before the modern era, certain principles tend to withstand the test of time. In the video, Sarah Morning associates concepts like permanence, ritual communication, and trust. Oriental cultures always tended to place more value on these concepts, because they are rooted in tradition. Today, time and space are imploding into each other, and many believe we are beginning to see those cultures emerge not as the latest success stories, but as the inevitable manifestation of age-old principles at work in the digital age. What this means is that the hare is simply beginning to make way for the “slow but sure” tortoise.So in the final analysis, it turns out that “slow marketing” was always the way of true success. Time and space implosion is simply exposing the fact that this has been the truth all along. In a world of sound-bites and instant messaging, only what will still be around a hundred years from now, instantly shows itself as authentic winner. The technology quickly exposes the rest for the new global village to delete in a way that was never feasible before.

Great post and great video too. I’m doing things slowly, but not on purpose. Now I’m going to be quite okay with that and enjoy the ride more instead of feeling the pressure, because some days I really feel it!

Start this movement, Tea! Personally, I go for very long walks when figuring out a business strategy. I also use pen and paper to work things out vs. technology. I’ve already started the slow marketing movement.